Haw Par Villa
Haw Par Villa
April 18, 2012
Event ended early and Aaron came to fetch Jo & me to Ayer Crescent to collect my previous cheque before we drive up to Haw Par Villa. Here is a little information for those who never been there before.
" Previously known as ‘Tiger Balm Gardens’, Haw Par Villa was later renamed after its former owners, the Aw brothers – Boon Haw and Boon Par, who made a fortune in the early 1900s selling Tiger Balm, a cure-all paste created by their father.
Haw Par Villa is like no other place in the world, with over 1,000 statues and 150 dioramas that dramatise Chinese legends and folklore.
Founded on Chinese legends and values, this historical theme park has large, imposing statues from famous legends of old – featuring characters like Fu Lu Shou, Confucius and the Laughing Buddha.
The most well-known is probably the Ten Courts of Hell exhibit, which depicts scenes of punishment and reincarnation popular to Buddhist belief. This is followed by Journey into the West, which retells the classic Chinese legend of monk Xuanzang in his search of Buddhist scriptures. Prepare to be fascinated by stories and images of ancient times here at Haw Par Villa, told vividly through storytelling."
"God comes with leaden feet, but strikes with iron hands"
The main attraction of the entire villa; Ten Courts of Hell exhibit. I remembered the last time I was here, they actually hired workers to dress up as wandering ghost and hang around this entrance to spook people. And, I cried non-stop haha!
Now, before you proceed to read on, be warned the following pictures might be disturbing to some of you who are uncomfortable with bloody statues. Each scene tells of how one might suffer in hell, judging from the type of crimes you committed in your life. I'll just post up some of the pictures from the Ten Court of Hell exhibit.
1. Drug addicts & traffickers
2. Tomb robbers
3.Urging people into crime
Punishment - Tied to red hot copper pillar & grilled
1. Ungratefulness
2. Disrespect to elders
3. Escape from prison
Punishment - Heart cut out
1. Disobedience to one's siblings
2. Lack of filial piety
Punishment - Grounded by a large stone
1. Misuse of books
2. Possession of pornographic material
3. Breaking written rules & regulations
4. Wasting food
Punishment - Body sawn into halves
Aaron was beside me when I was staring at this horrifying scene and he just had to make it worst by saying that majority girls are going to be saw into half, because they're always wasting food, dieting. #omg
1. Lack of filial obedience,
2. Causing trouble for parents/family members
3. Cheating during examinations
Punishment - Intestines & organs pulled out
Other crimes and punishments includes:
Rumour-mongers, those sowing discord among family members will have their tongue pulled out. Rapists and those driving others to their death will be thrown into wok of boiling oil. Prostitutes will be thrown into a pool of blood and drowned. Corruption, stealing & gambling, will lead to the punishment of being frozen into blocks of ice.
"Bodhisattva Guanyin"
"Fu Lu Shou" 福禄寿(Good Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity)
Jeremy's tourist shot
Ending with Jeremy and his tourist shot. If you're interested in Chinese myths, gods & heavenly stories. This is probably the best place for you to gain better insights :)
Finally bought my May copy! (Almost missed it) Mum's gonna nag me again, because I had the entire collection from year 2010 all stored up. There are really useful & interesting articles in every copy. Think I better subscribe with Cleo, if not I'm bound to miss out a copy someday.
0 comments